- "Anyone who knows me knows I don't do off the peg robots, I tend to look at an object like say a microwave oven (robot 1) or a plastic dustbin/dodgem car (robot 3) and take it from there."
- — Colin Scott on designing his robots
Team Death was a team from Robot Wars which fought in four series with four different heavyweight robots, starting with Piece de Resistance. The team were famously sporting and valued a fun design over a competitive machine. Despite fighting in four series, none of Team Death's entries made it past the first round, apart from Piece de Resistance which then went out in the Trial.
The team did not enter the rebooted series, although Colin Scott's robot Chimera was rebuilt and entered into Series 8 by a new team, and Team Death returned to the modern live circuit with heavyweight and featherweight machines not long after Series 10 had aired.
The Team[]
The original Team Death with Piece de Resistance
The captain of Team Death was Colin Scott, a market stall worker from West Yorkshire, who was the only team member present in all of the teams appearances. Colin Scott was a spirited man, always positive in interviews despite generally poor performance in battle, such as when he claimed to have 'turbocharged' the batteries of Piece de Resistance. For Series 2 and 3 he was joined by Julie Scott and friend Bryan Newcombe. Together, they entered Piece de Resistance and Death Warmed Up.
- "The third team member, Bryan Newcombe, once built a shed."
- — Jonathan Pearce finds notability in Bryan Newcombe
After deciding not to enter Series 4, Colin Scott was joined by Stephen Keating and his son Jordan Keating for both Series 5 and 7, where Team Death competed with Immortalis and Metalis. The team had also tried to enter Series 6 with Devil Rider. Team Death would not enter the reboot, although Chimera, a robot originally built by Colin Scott, did appear in Series 8 under a new team.
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Piece de Resistance | Heavyweight | Series 2 |
| Death Warmed Up | Heavyweight | Series 3 |
| Immortalis | Heavyweight | Series 5 |
| Metalis | Heavyweight | Series 7 |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 3
NOTE: Piece de Resistance's Trial elimination is not considered a loss
Series Record[]
| Series | Team Death Series Record |
|---|---|
| The First Wars | Did not enter |
| The Second Wars | Heat, Trial with Piece de Resistance |
| The Third Wars | Heat, Round 1 with Death Warmed Up |
| The Fourth Wars | Did not enter |
| The Fifth Wars | Heat, Round 1 with Immortalis |
| The Sixth Wars | Failed to qualify with Devil Rider |
| The Seventh Wars | Heat, Round 1 with Metalis |
| Series 8 | Did not enter |
| Series 9 | Did not enter |
| Series 10 | Did not enter |
Although Team Death did not enter Series 8, Colin Scott's creation, Chimera, competed under ownership of a new team, having been rebuilt. A new version, Chimera2, also competed in Series 9.
Outside Robot Wars[]
Immortalis as Celestial Terror at Techno Games 2002
Team Death with Devil Rider in Techno Games 2003
The team also entered Techno Games 2002, entering a disarmed Immortalis as Celestial Terror in the Football tournament, where it teamed up with Smash 'n' Grab to enter the Football tournament, but lost 4-0 to A.A.T. and Savage Toaster. The team returned for Techno Games 2003 to enter Devil Rider into the Sumo tournament, but it was beaten by Hellbent in 50.40 seconds.
Chimera in 2011
When Robot Wars entered its 12-year hiatus, team captain Colin Scott built a robot called Chimera, a thwackbot which he entered in FRA competitions. Scott originally retired the robot around 2006, but he restored Chimera several years later and competed in the 2011 UK Championships at The O2 Arena, losing in Round 1 to Thor and Tiberius 4. In March 2012, Chimera was sold on to Tony Smith, and in 2015 it was sold on again to Team 53, known on Robot Wars as Team Chimera. A rebuilt version of Colin Scott's Chimera appeared in Series 8, while a brand-new Chimera2 competed in Series 9 with no relation to Team Death.
- "I have been out of the Robot combat scene for 6 years now but you know how it is, its hard to get robot fighting out of the blood and the latest series of Robot Wars on tv has revised my interest. I'm not a stranger to building heavyweights, I have built 6 before with my last Robot Chimera taking part in the Roaming Robots uk Championships in 2011. ... my starting point for my latest creation is a ride on lawnmower grass blower and a propane gas cylinder (deactivated) and wheelbarrow wheels.....the build Diary begins."
- — Colin Scott announces his return to robotics on the FRA forum
Mean Machine in 2017
In 2017, Colin Scott announced he was planning to build a new heavyweight robot[1]. Team Death, consisting of Colin Scott and new team member Adam Taylor, went on to complete their new heavyweight machine named Mean Machine in 2018, armed with rotating teeth used to clamp other robots. It competed at the Robots Live! event in Grantham, held in the second half of 2018, and returned to the same event in June 2019, where it was thrown out of the arena by Iron-Awe 8 in its competition fight after losing a chain to its wheel.
Chimera's Revenge in January 2019
Piece de Resistance (left, originally No Imagination) and Chimera's Revenge (right) in March 2019
Team Death also began competing in featherweight events from 2018 onward. They entered the Robodojo featherweight events in November 2018 and January 2019, with robots including an industrial thwackbot design named Chimera's Revenge, and No Imagination, a large HDPE wedge armed with a spatula. These robots were largely unsuccessful in terms of victories, but fought a large number of fights in a short space of time. In March 2019 for the next Robodojo event, No Imagination was rebranded to become the newest version of Piece de Resistance, with Chimera's Revenge also competing, with improved drive and new silver colours. Both robots were unable to collect a victory across their eight combined battles.
Barnsley Bruiser in May 2019
Piece de Resistance in May 2019, with spatula lifter
In May 2019, Team Death completed another new featherweight robot, Barnsley Bruiser, capable of running alongside Piece de Resistance and Chimera's Revenge in competition. The new robot was another sit-and-spin design, adorned by a rubber mascot which Colin Scott describes as 'his own face'. Barnsley Bruiser entered the May 2019 Robodojo event alongside Piece de Resistance, and fought against Luna-tic, Barghest, Forge Master 2 and BAW 2, winning the fourth battle against BAW 2 despite losing the opening three fights.
Danger UXB in July 2019
Colin Scott with Danger UXB
At July 2019's Robodojo, Colin Scott repainted Chimera's Revenge to use a Futurama-themed design, named Danger UXB (Un-explored Bender), winning a fight against BOB 3 despite losing its other three battles. Barnsley Bruiser also competed, winning against Reaver which drove off the side of the arena, despite again losing its other three battles. Both Piece de Resistance and Danger UXB returned to Robodojo in January 2020, both finishing in the lower half of the competition but Piece de Resistance was able to win its first fight.
Driller Queen in July 2020
Piece de Resistance in July 2020
In July 2020, Colin Scott debuted a new featherweight robot named Driller Queen, armed with a drill weapon at the front. It appeared in two test fights at Robodojo in July 2020, losing a wheel in battle with Pressure Point but provided a welcome return for the drill weapon in British combat. Piece de Resistance and Danger UXB both competed in the main competitions, with Piece de Resistance being modified to use a shorter lifter that could move 180 degrees. Piece de Resistance won one battle against Mattock while Danger UXB won a three-way melee over Mattock and Ironside, and both were relatively successful in other fights before burning out their motors. Otherwise, the machines were both relegated to 1-4 records, with Piece de Resistance losing a judges' decision to Euphoria and Danger UXB losing its decision to Hell's Angel.
Arf A Bald Tyre
Three of Team Death's active robots in 2022: Driller Queen, Arf A Bald Tyre, Danger UXB (left-to-right)
Team Death remained active in 2022 and 2023, completing a new build named Arf A Bald Tyre equipped with a lifter and armoured in a bald tyre. Both Danger UXB and Piece de Resistance also competed at every recurring Robodojo, with Danger UXB finishing fifth in the January 2023 event with a combat record of 2-2, allowing it to outlast four opponents in the fifth place play-off to claim its third win of the day.
References[]
[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||